Hong Kong’s Executive Council has approved the Northern Link’s second-phase financial arrangement, and the government and MTR Corporation have signed an agreement for the full project. The agreement moves the main line and spur into the construction stage; both are targeted to open together by 2034 or earlier.
The government, with help from an independent auditor, verified the second phase’s construction-cost estimate at about HK$54.8 billion. The estimate for the whole project, including its first part, is about HK$86.2 billion, 28% below the original estimate. Both figures are at July 2025 prices.
To support the second phase, MTR will receive eight sites, totalling about 46 hectares, for residential and commercial development. They are in Ngau Tam Mei, San Tin and Kwu Tung North, as well as the proposed Au Tau New Development Area. The government will deduct a fixed sum from the land premium for the sites. The premium will be assessed at full market value on the basis that the railway is provided, and the deduction will support MTR’s work on the second phase.
The planned main line is a 10.7-kilometre underground railway with five stations. Kam Sheung Road and Kwu Tung will connect with existing rail lines, with stations at San Tin, Ngau Tam Mei and Au Tau in between. A peak-period journey between Kam Sheung Road and Kwu Tung is estimated to fall from 60 minutes to 12.
MTR told HK01 that Kwu Tung station is under construction and is expected to open by the end of 2027, and that its cash flow and funds raised through borrowing and bonds should cover the next three years of work. It has not ruled out issuing more bonds.
The roughly six-kilometre underground spur will branch from San Tin towards Huanggang checkpoint, with about 1.1 kilometres of track in Shenzhen. Its three planned stations include Chau Tau and Lok Ma Chau Loop; the estimated journey from San Tin to Huanggang is about 11 minutes.